Three to see: Ruthie Foster, Chuck Prophet and Future

By Aaron Davis - Special to The Bee

June 25, 2014 4:00 PM

Ruthie Foster

Ruthie Foster will sucker-punch you. Those who profess to not want anything to do with gospel music could easily spend two hours at one of her shows and not realize it was a gospel show. That’s likely because her tendencies towards chunky funk rhythms and Texas roadhouse blues guitar licks (the kind begging for inclusion in a Quentin Tarantino flick) don’t fit the traditional mold of the genre – and with the fire pit of soul churning in her gut, there’s really no denying the roots of her music, nor is there any denying you’ll be dancing to it. 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley. $28. www.thecenterforthearts.org.

Chuck Prophet

As reflected in his 2012 ode to San Francisco, “Temple Beautiful,” Chuck Prophet is a darling in the Bay Area, but there is little rhyme or reason to explain his lack of bust-out national success. You’d scarcely find a shred of concern about that from the tousle-haired troubadour, who flips sultry rock, blues and country guitar riffs with thrift-store reverb through his amps to forge a missing link between Tom Petty and Beck. In a switch-up from his usual shows with Mission Express, Prophet will be backed by a string octet and performing “Temple” in its entirety. 13 Main St., Winters. $20. www.palmsplayhouse.com.

Future

Your relative tolerance level for the Auto-Tune is likely to dictate your overall opinion of Future, a man crafting an anthemic picture of what the future of hip-hop and rap might sound like. He’s the Flux Capacitor of digitally enhanced lyrics, sealing his rhymes into a tin can and then tossing the can into some sort of time warp to the 1980s. Yes, that’s clearly a setup for more “Back to the Future” puns, but if you’ve seen his video for “Move That Dope” with Pharrell Williams, you’d understand. With QUE and Rico Love. 1417 R St, Sacramento. $27 ($75 VIP). www.aceofspadessac.com.

Looking ahead: Wanderlust Festival. July 17-20 at Squaw Valley

This annual collision of yoga and music features tunes from jazztronic duo Big Gigantic, indie rock mega-ensemble the Polyphonic Spree, Nahko & Medicine for the People, RJD2 and tons more. squaw.wanderlustfestival.com.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.